“I think it’s common knowledge that a lot of agency owners sleep with the girls.” Joe says, giving a little shrug of his immense shoulders. Sophie is on the couch next to him, her head on his shoulder, watching the TV show and seemingly paying little attention to our conversation.

“Really?” I say, not exactly surprised that this kind of thing happens, but genuinely surprised that Joe knows anything about it.

“Yeah, I think everyone knows that.” Mike says. I turn my body slightly to look at him, one eyebrow raised. “What? It’s a big stereotype about the industry and it looks like it’s true.”

“When I asked Maggie about it she said that Dixie isn’t the only one but she wouldn’t name names.” I say, looking down at my hands and thinking about which girl might also be fucking Tim. I wish Maggie had just told me who, my curiosity will consume me until I know.

“Who knows, maybe Maggie is one of his girlfriends too.” Joe says, briefly looking my way before turning his attention back to the TV.

“No, she definitely would not do that.” I shake my head, certain of Maggie’s innocence. “She’s the sweetest, most soft spoken girl. I can’t picture her with the likes of Tim.”

“That doesn’t mean she isn’t fucking him.” Mike says. I let out a troubled sigh and Mike and Joe look at each other and smile. “Hold on, you’re saying that this escort named Maggie couldn’t possibly be sleeping with the boss and you’re so sure of that fact that you’re getting visibly upset when we even suggest it?”

“I’m not upset, I just know Maggie wouldn’t do anything like that. You’d think the same if you knew her.” I say, not sure why I’m bothering to defend her.

“Ok, fine. It’s not your precious Maggie.” Mike says although his tone of voice is not entirely convincing.

“It’s probably Ebony.” I say with conviction.

Sophie laughs and looks towards me. “Just because she’s a bitch does that mean that she’s automatically sleeping with the boss?”

I think for a moment. “Yeah, why not!?”

“Just checking.” She turns back towards the TV, a smile on her face. “I’ve heard that some agencies will basically force the girls into having sex with the owner before they hire them.”

“What? No.” I say, not wanting to believe that it could be true. As much as Tim can be a dick, I don’t think that he is capable of that kind of sleaze.

“See for yourself. Go meet up with a few agency owners, tell them that you’re an escort and that you’re looking for work and see if they hire you on the spot or if they demand to test you out first. Oh shit, that reminds me… when I first started out I received an email from some chick who warned me off of a certain agency because the owner had coerced her into having sex with him as an audition and then didn’t even hire her afterwards. Fuck, I wish I could remember the agency name. She was going around emailing all of the escorts that post on that website to warn them.”

“Seriously? Oh my god that’s awful.” My mouth drops in surprise.

“It can be a fucked up industry, my dear.” Joe says, running his hands through Sophie’s hair. “There’s a reason a lot of girls go independent. There are a lot of downsides to being independent but there is a lot of bullshit about working for an agency, too. A lot of the agencies treat the girls like their property. They demand that they provide certain services. Some even require the girls to provide bareback sex or they won’t hire them.”

“Really? That’s disgusting. This agency doesn’t do that, condoms are a must for penetration.” I say, glad that at least Tim cares about keeping the girls as safe as possible.

“Then already your agency is better than some of the other ones.” Sophie says, standing up from the couch and stretching her long legs before heading to the kitchen. “Anyone need a refill?”

“Just bring the bottle. And some mix.” A call comes in on my agency phone and I hop off the couch and run into my bedroom to answer it.

“Good evening, Angel Escorts, this is Roxy speaking.”

“Hey baby, how are you tonight?” The voice on the other end says.

“Hi there, thank you for asking, I’m great. How are you?”

“I’m good but I’d be better if I had a nice set of lips on my cock.”

I hesitate, not knowing what to say. “Oh, well I’m sure we can help you with that.”

“Would you like to help me yourself? You sound hot.” He says.

I’m taken aback by his comment but I make sure to keep my irritation and surprise out of my voice. “Unfortunately I can’t but I know a few sexy ladies who would love to help. Which of our lovely ladies were you calling about?”

“I was calling about Syndy, is she available?”

“She is available, what time were you hoping to book her for?” I ask, knowing that she’s just finished with a customer and was eager to get another one tonight. She’ll be happy I booked her again.

“I think 1am would be good and I’d like to see her for a half hour and maybe an hour if things go well.”

“I can book you in, that’s not a problem. I’ll give you the name of the crossroads near where Syndy is…”

“No need, I’ve been there before. I’m kind of a regular. Tell her it’s Patrick the Long. She’ll know who I am.”

“Okay, will do. I’ll text you back at this number prior to your appointment to confirm.” I say, glad to be able to get him off the phone.

“How much would it cost me to have you included in tonight’s festivities?” He asks.

“Uh… I’m not on the menu, sorry hun.” I reply, rolling my eyes.

“You work for an agency yet you’re not on the menu?” He asks.

“Someone has to answer the phones.” I try to keep a smile in my voice but his line of questioning is making me angry.

“You sound hot and horny, why not make some good money tonight? I’ll give you three hundred bucks to join us. I bet you have a nice tight pussy.”

I almost laugh, thinking of the money I turned down to have a threesome with Sophie. If he really thinks three hundred bucks is tempting enough to get into that line of work, he must be delusional. “Oh, thanks so much for the offer but I really can’t.”

“Why not?” He pauses, waiting for my answer, and when none comes he continues. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

“Sort of.” I say, not wanting to give this guy too much information.

“What do you mean, sort of?” He asks.

“I know a guy who would be pretty angry if he heard me saying that I didn’t have a boyfriend, let’s just say that.” I say, forcing a hint of laughter into my voice.

He laughs and I hope this can be the end of our conversation. “I got ya, I understand. So your boyfriend has no problem with you being in this line of work?”

“Since I don’t do anything but answer the phones, he doesn’t have a problem with it.”

“Ah, so at least you’re honest with him about what you do. He doesn’t get mad when horny guys call you, trying to pick you up?”

“Actually, this is the first.” I admit.

“You haven’t been working here long then.”

I stumble for words, trying to figure out what to say next. “Um. So let me just confirm with Syndy and I’ll text you back to let you know that you’re on for 1am for a half hour appointment.”

“Thanks for the conversation and I hope you have a great time with Syndy.” I hang up the phone, not wanting to stay on the line with him for another moment. I stare at the phone for a minute, gathering my thoughts before I text Syndy to let her know she has a 1am appointment with Patrick the Long. She texts back with a simple “Thanks hun.” I was half expecting her to complain and say something about what a creep he is. I’ll have to remember to ask her what she thinks of him the next time I see her. I’m curious to know how this guy treats the girls. I stuff the phone in my pocket and head back out to the living room. Sophie has been kind enough to refill my drink and I bend over to grab it.

“I just had a really annoying call, I’m going to go out for a quick smoke.” I kneel down, drink in hand, and start rummaging through my purse until I find my pack of cigarettes.

“I’ll come with you.” Sophie says, grabbing her drink and opening the balcony door. I step out behind her and she waits until I’ve shut the door behind me before speaking.

“You work for an agency, they see it as carte blanche to hit on you.” Sophie says.

“Your customers almost never talked to me like that, I can only remember a few times during the entire time that I worked for you where someone was inappropriate.”

“Maybe it’s something about agencies in particular, I dunno.” She grabs a cigarette out of my pack and reaches behind me for the lighter we always keep on the window sill.

“I don’t need a complete stranger telling me that my pussy must be tight. Barf.” I make a gagging sound to emphasize the point.

Sophie laughs. “Wow, yeah, that’s pretty ballsy of him.”

“And apparently he’s a regular so I can expect a call from him again at some point. Joy.” I take a long, deep drag off my cigarette. “There was a guy who called the other night… I suspect he was jerking off.”

“Really?” She downs half her drink and then continues. “What makes you think that?”

“He just kept asking me these really detailed questions about what services the girls offer. Then he was asking me details about their breasts and stuff, it was super weird. And all the while he just sounded like he was in the middle of something. Either he was exercising or jerking off.”

“Oh, that’s pretty nasty. Did he end up booking with any of them?”

“No! That’s what makes me so sure he was jerking off, I think he was just getting off on the fact that he was talking to a chick about other girls private parts and services. It was fucking weird.”

“The good thing about being independent is I could always just hang up on those fuckers.”

“I think Tim would fire me if he found out I hung up on a customer.” I say, pretty sure that he would freak if I ever did that and he found out.

“You should ask him about it though, maybe he’s a cool guy and doesn’t want you to be harassed.”